Thompson invited 100 of his closest friends to a packed 7:30 showing of the romantic comedy at the Pacific Place AMC Friday night (so if you were there wondering why people kept clapping during the opening credits, now you know).

After the movie, which was set and partially filmed in Seattle, Thompson and crew got drinks at the Fox Sports Grill, where the Newport High School grad mused about the role his home city played in the film.

“I always watched Cameron Crowe movies, and you can tell he loves this city,” Thompson said. “I feel the same way.”

It’s true much of the film, about a motivational speaker who can’t confront his own grief, was shot in Vancouver, with that city’s hotels, restaurants and sidewalks doubling for spots downtown or in Pioneer Square.

Movie producer and co-writer Mike Thompson of Seattle watches the filming of “Traveling” on a monitor at the corner of Virginia Street and Pike Place in Seattle March 12, 2008. (Meryl Schenker/Seattle Post-Intelligencer).

And since co-star Jennifer Aniston couldn’t make it out here for filming editors had to stitch scenes with her at the gum wall, the Fremont Troll and Bruce Lee’s grave with care — and sometimes a blue screen.

Still, Seattle pulled its weight, even up the Space Needle’s 800 steps.

“It was actually one of the most sort of amusing and strenuous parts of production,” Thompson said of the scene in which the character played by Aaron Eckhart, who is afraid of elevators, gets to the top of Seattle’s most famous monument the hard way. “It was a constant up and down.”

Seattle’s most defining trait — its rain — was easier to include. Most outdoor scenes were cloudy, and usually wet.

“It’s a fall movie, so it’s accurate,” Thompson said. “It’s also meant to capture the gloom of (Eckhart’s) character.”

Thompson said director and co-writer Brandon Camp drew on his grief over the recent loss of his mother when creating the film’s often heartbreaking moments. Thompson’s own inspiration came from his own preoccupation with the end of life.

“I’m consumed with my own death,” Thompson said, pointing at his past and future work as evidence. He’s currently at work writing a film adaptation of “The Last Summer of You and Me,” a novel about sisters who struggle with love, life and illness.

Feedback for “Love Happens” were positive at the Fox Sports Grill, but the crowd was biased. In all, reviews are mixed.

Thompson had no regrets.

“I like the movie, I feel good about how it turned out,” he said.

“Is it the best movie ever made? Are there better movies in my future? I hope so. I always want to improve.”